Show
Time and location
NEWARK, N.J. — Give Carmella an opportunity, and she will capitalize.
Not only did The Princess of Staten Island play her Money in the Bank cash-in perfectly to dethrone Charlotte Flair as SmackDown Women’s Champion by pouncing after an attack from the IIconics, she retained the title at WWE Backlash much in the same way she won it: Patience, patience, patience.
It almost cost her. Charlotte showed up Carmella so thoroughly in the early goings of this bout that the champion tried to straight-up take a (moon)walk out of the match. The Queen, of course, would not allow the SmackDown Women’s Title to slip away quite so easily, and she forced Carmella into a bout that was in constant danger of becoming a showcase for the Flair heiress.
Carmella seized every advantage she got with rabid intensity, keeping Charlotte on the mat with a vice-like chinlock that grounded her for an extended stint and surprising Flair with a Code of Silence that seemed as though it would win her the match. Charlotte fought back to tee up a moonsault, but Carmella — who grew more and more comfortable as the match went on — dodged the maneuver. Flair tweaked her knee on the landing, which gave Carmella the opportunity she was waiting for. The champion administered a pinpoint kick to the leg and rolled up the challenger for the win.
The question of whether Carmella had truly beaten the woman to become the woman was fair to scrutinize following the cash-in. After all, Carmella had targeted a vulnerable titleholder with an ace in the hole. This time, she simply made good on an opening and left Newark with the title in tow. Perhaps, now, the answer is clear.